1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of dividing a coverage area for a robot and a device of the same. More particularly, to a method of producing a space map for a robot to work and dividing the space map into at least one segment and a device of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional robots have been designed for automatic processes in factories or industries. As an automatic control technology and remote control technology have been developed, robots have been used for simple work or work under extreme environments, such as high or low temperature, or in dangerous environments such as the outer space or the sea floor.
In addition to industrial robots for industries, robots for housework or business assistance at homes and offices have been put to practical use. For example, typical robots are a cleaning robot, a guiding robot, and an anti-crime robot etc.
Such conventional robots can perform specific jobs in a predetermined area. However, when an intended region is large, if the robots randomly travel or work at random place in the area, they cannot effectively perform specific jobs for the whole area. Accordingly, it has been tried to effectively divide an area within a given space and perform specific jobs for the divided area to improve efficiency.
FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing a conventional method of dividing an area.
In the conventional method as shown in FIG. 1, an area was divided by scanning a given area with a straight line, i.e. sweep line 100. As shown in FIG. 1, an area may be divided at a point where the sweep line 100 meets a critical point 150. The critical point 150 is where the sweep line meets an obstacle and no obstacles exist in the upper and lower portions. Accordingly, in FIG. 1, two critical points 150 are created, which makes four segments.
However, as for a grid map that is recognized by a robot with a distance measuring sensor, the outlines of obstacles or walls may not be smooth and considerably uneven. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of curves or recesses appear at the left and right sides and causes several unnecessary critical points 160 in scanning with a sweep line 100, which creates unnecessary segments in dividing the area.
Considering the above-mentioned problems, a conventional method of smoothing the outline of a grid map and dividing the area in consideration of unnecessary critical points in dividing is used.
However, according to the conventional method of smoothing the outline of a grid map, the grid map is produced by measuring distances with a sensor mounted in a robot. Therefore, because the robot may always variably travel within tolerances for the sensor and it is difficult to determine the exact location of the robot and errors in relative distances from walls and obstacles may be created accordingly. For this reason, the method has a limit to making a smooth grid map.